About a week ago, I came across a posting for a job that would be possibly the best fit ever for my skill set and interests with their needs. Huge genomic data acquisition efforts, with plenty of technological support, room for growth in a variety of new instrumentation and experimental directions – these are things that make me happy. You really couldn’t construct a more perfect “dream job”, and I’m one of a pretty small number of people that could even do it.

The catch – it’s in a state that is currently considering a “religious freedom” bill, and forecasts suggest that it will be one of the last 15 or so states to pass marriage equality. A year or two ago, it would have been really hard to pass up jobs in marriage inequality states. Today, I have options… I can choose dignity now.

Here is a hell of a piece of writing in The New Yorker about what it’s like to be an adjunct and the effects of adjunct instructors on the lives of our students.

An open source, citizen-sciency library-centered project to figure out the relationship between heart rate and longevity. We know the story for mammals, but what about other vertebrates? This project needs data sleuths! This looks like it’d be good for a project for intro and non-majors bio courses.

A brief and brave piece about tenure denial, by Rev. Dr. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder with tips about what to do if you find yourself in this kind of situation. (Also, here’s an earlier thing of mine with more specific recommendations.)

…These are real requirements for a real job, not something made up by The Onion. I think that my favorite is the last one. [Leads and/or follows as circumstances require.] Combined with the other requirements, they are essentially saying, “we want the perfect faculty member, who knows what to do in all situations and, in the event that we decide that they are not doing the right things, knows that they were wrong and quickly starts doing what we say to do instead.”